Beautiful morning in the woods

I am really enjoying my Sunday trail runs, and I feel like I am adjusting to getting the long runs in back to back fairly well. I really tried to stick to the 11:00 min pace for most of the run. I slow a bit the last mile to run with Pete. He was ready to stop at mile 6, but we convinced him to continue on a bit longer. Lord knows, he has encouraged me to keep running many, many times when I really wanted to stop.


It was still humid, but overcast and the woods always provide a nice distraction for me. I find I am running less and less with my mp3 on. I've only used it once this week and it was really not necessary. I never thought I would enjoy a run without it, but I really do.

Next week will be interesting. I have been wanting to run in the mornings, but due to my late nights, I've been running in the evenings. Because of some other obligations this week, I'll have to skip running with the Trail group folks and hit the streets on my own in the morning. I must admit, I really like running with the group, but I know I also need to be comfortable running on my own. I am too social for my own good!

The weekly mileage dipped a bit this week, mostly because of the hip and the funeral we had to attend.

Total Time: 1:27:00; Total Mileage: 7.78 ; Avg. Pace: 11:09; Avg HR: 171

Weight: 126.5; Calories Burned: 667

Weekly Mileage: 25.3 ; Monthly Mileage: 20


Mile 1: 10:24
Mile 2: 10:24
Mile 3: 10:44
Mile 4: 11:51
Mile 5: 11:21
Mile 6: 11:41
Mile 7: 11:20
Mile 8: 11:03

8.3 miles in 83 degree heat

Got in a little more than 8 today with the Fit group. I saw some familiar faces today that were running with the Houston training group, (those training for the Houston marathon within the Woodlands Fit group.)

I didn't meet Christy though... I looked around, but I just couldn't figure out who you were, sorry! I did see a lady with a baby jogger, but she had a little girl, 3 weeks old. I was very inspired by her!

I just received my August issue of Runner's World and discovered a wonderful surprise! Bill and Dana-Sue Crews have an article written about them, with their beautiful children! It is a nice article with some great pictures. Congratulations Crews family!

I felt great today. My pace was slowed when I realized that several of my runners were no longer within eye shot of me.

I am officially back off of sugar. I've lost 3 lbs since starting this again. Sugar really is my enemy!

Total Time: 1:23:50 ; Total Mileage: 8.3 miles ; Avg. Pace: 10:06 ; Avg HR: 172

Weight: 126 ; Calories Burned: 809


Mile 1: 9:35
Mile 2: 9:20
Mile 3: 9:54
Mile 4: 10:01
Mile 5: 11:17
Mile 6: 10:06
Mile 7: 10:37
Mile 8: 10:05
Mile .3: 9:49

Thursday Night Run

I was able to get in a quick 4.5 mile run tonight. Average pace of 9:46. The hip felt good, but I am still fighting something. I have a very sore throat and headache. Funny thing is that I didn't have either while running!

Running on empty

Saturday I didn't run as I didn't think my hip would be able to last. Instead I helped a bit at the RTW as the Fit folks ran for their time trial. It was interesting being there at the finish to see the runners come across. I've never actually seen a runner take first place, so that was a neat thing to experience.

It was pretty hot. Several of the runners were feeling ill at the end of the run. I saw so many people that I knew and I loved cheering them on! It was a lot of fun.

I didn't run Sunday either. Again, I felt like the hip needed the rest. Maybe I am just a wimp, but I am not willing to risk an injury that will bench me for 8 weeks like it did last season.

Monday, after learning that our friends' son died, I was not in the mood to run, but I needed to. I ran hard, fast, and mad. My time was faster than it has been in awhile. It was a good run, but at the end, I could feel the hip screaming at me.

Yesterday, I awoke to a nice limp and pain from my low back to my knee. I headed into the chiropractor's office to have my self fixed up. He did a marvelous job, but I decided to let the adjustment settle. I am going to an easy run this evening to see how it feels.

Push-Up Challenge

Thanks to Jamoosh over at Das Mixture, I've decided to take the One Hundred Push-Up Challenge.

My initial test was a whopping 2! 2 whole push-ups!! I guess there's tons of room for improvement!

Please Pray

A family in our homeschooling group has just lost their 17 or 18 year old son in a drowning accident that occurred in Huntsville.

Please keep this family in your prayers.

My first swim lesson...

at least as an adult!

Foo joined me as he is out of TKD right now with a possible meniscus tear. More on that later.

We were up and out early as Bean had to be at the church to head off on the first of her summer retreats. Foo was regretting his decision to accompany me to the lesson citing his lack of sleep, (7 hours!) I had no pity for him.

The lesson went very well! I was so impressed with the instructor, I almost felt okay about the ungodly amount of money I paid for the lessons!

Foo's stroke was dramatically improved by the end of the lesson and I could see a slight glimmer of hope in his eye that he might find another activity besides TKD to keep him busy. She also showed him how to run in the water, something I am going to try as well on those days that I might have a few aches and pains.

I re-learned how to do the flippy-turny thingy again, and got some great input on my breathing, stroke, and kicking.

I also learned the backstroke, something I had never really learned before. The instructor, Amber, is really wanting me to do a triathlon. I stood my ground though and told her..."maybe in 2009, I need to get my 50 miler done first!" I didn't mention the 100 miler looming in the back of my mind.

All and all, one hour in the pool appears to have been quite fruitful. I have a nice workout for the week. The biggest problem will be actually getting there.

Tomorrow is RTW. Not sure if I'll run or be the support staff. I'll have to make the call in the morning. I don't want to push the hip/back thing I felt yesterday.

Ouch!

After the late afternoon showers, the temps were in the 70's this evening and despite a little twinge I was feeling in my back and hip, I thought I'd go for a run.

I met the trail group at Rico's and we headed out on a 4.5 mile loop. I could tell from the first step things weren't feeling right.

I gave it about 1.3 miles and then turned back towards the car. One of the other runners was heading back because of some IT Band pain. We kept each other company on the walk back.

The pain isn't bad unless I am running so I will listen to the body and rest til Saturday.

I don't think I'll be pushing for the 25 min 5K though.

Western States Cancelled

I couldn't believe my eyes last night when I read that Western States has been cancelled. I agree that the race director has made the best decision for the safety of all, but as a runner, I can't imagine the heartbreak that these incredible athletes are feeling right now.

To go from "50% self-directed to the point of obsession training and planning" to nothing is just unthinkable.

Of course we are all wondering what will happen for these runners now. Will the race folks let them run next year? And if they do, will the participants really want to go through the training process again?

I suppose this could happen to any race at any time and that we should always be ready for something like this.

It doesn't make it any easier.

I have so admired watching Rick train for this race, and I know in my heart of hearts that he would have done very well. My thoughts are with you, Dirt Runner! If you want to run 100 miles this weekend, I can do 25 with you!

Is there anyone else out there wanting to run some distances this weekend?

Flintridge Hills

I know it seems that everyone is struggling with this humidity, but it still doesn't make me feel any better about the major differences in my splits.

Total Time: 40:46 ; Total Mileage: 4.1 ; Avg. Pace: 10:10; Avg HR: 173

Mile 1: 9:26
Mile 2: 9:07
Mile 3: 11:25 walked
Mile 4: 10:43 walked

Monday night run

Ran the Nature Trail in Grogan's Mill again today. 4.83 miles in 52:28; 10:52 avg. pace. Walked some of the trail again. Not sure why I can't adapt to this humidity yet.

Campaign of Gratitdue

I was sent this today and felt it was important enough to put on the blog. I don't know how widespread this small act of gratitude is, but I pray it will be an accepted standard as a show of gratitude to our men and women in service.

Please visit the CAMPAIGN OF GRATITUDE website today to learn more.

Saturday Morning Run

Nice run this morning with Fit. The yellows had the option of running 6 or 8 miles. I decided I'd take the 8 mile route. After Thursday's run, I wasn't sure I would make it. I had some sort of stomach something or other that lingered through this morning. I still felt nausea creeping in today, but ignored it and it seemed to get better. Even now, I still feel icky, but better than yesterday.

It was nice having the group run together. We were keeping a great pace! At the split off for the 6 and 8 mile routes, I noticed one runner lagging behind, so I stayed with her. She is trying to get ready for San Francisco so she needed to log the mileage, but runs at the Red Group pace.

I don't like leaving anyone on their own, ever. If they are faster than me, I figure I'll pass them up if they are having trouble. If they are slower, anything could happen and they would be alone. Not safe.


I've got 50 miles in for June, 30 this week. I followed my plan fairly well, so I was pleased.

Total Time: 1:29:30; Total Mileage: 8.52; Avg. Pace: 10:30; Avg HR: 170

Weight: 128; Calories Burned: 846

Weekly Mileage: 30.5miles; Monthly Mileage: 50 miles

Mile 1: 9:57
Mile 2: 9:20
Mile 3: 9:50
Mile 4: 11:09 (opted to stay with the last runner so as not to leave her on her own)
Mile 5: 11:23
Mile 6: 10:56
Mile 7: 10:26
Mile 8: 11:06
Mile 9: 10:14/pace

Monday night trails, Tuesday night track

Last night I met up with the trail group to hit the Nature Trail. It was safe, no inclinations to go off the beaten path. My body was pretty tired and it seemed like I walked an awful lot. I tried to make excuses for myself, but the bottom line, I ran 4.8 miles at an 11:45 pace.

At the end of the run, I noticed most everyone mentioned that they had a rough run as well.

I thought I would take Tuesday night off and see if I just needed some rest, but then pushed myself out the door for the track workout.

Coach Bill gave us the task of running 8 - 300s.

After a one mile warm-up, my 300's looked like this

#1: 7:10 pace (1:24)
#2: 7:23 pace (1:23)
#3: 6:43 pace (1:17)
#4: 7:01 pace (1:21)
#5: 6:38 pace (1:17)
#6: 6:55 pace (1:20)
#7: 7:43 pace (1:26)
#8: 7:57 pace (1:28)

The best part of the night... running a few 100s with Coach Bill.

Lost in The Woodlands

What better way to rid oneself of frustration then to hit the trails early on a Sunday morning.

I prepared the family the night before, assigning each child a specific duty so that Dad's breakfast was well underway to being ready by the time I planned to be home (8:30 am)

I told Mark to stay up as late as he wished playing on his computer so that he would be sure to sleep in and give us time to get his Father's Day breakfast ready. He readily complied and came to bed well after 2:30 am.

I met Sara and Pat at Forestgate park at 6 am this morning. The plan was to jog about 2 miles to the trailhead of the George Mitchell Nature Preserve, run the trail loop there and then find the supposed trail that some other folks from the trail group had run that led to Creekside Village trails. We were hoping to put together about 6 miles of trails in the end and then jog the 2 miles back to Forestgate for a total of about 10 miles.

I decided to use my amphipod belt today which I haven't used since I started running with hand-helds, but I was tired and decided I didn't want to have to carry the bottle. This turned out to be one of the smartest choices I've made in awhile.

The jog in was a nice warm up and as we headed into the trails, our old friends, the horseflies, let us know that they were already awake and awaiting our arrival. It was then that I remembered that I forgot to spray myself with repellent. I think I could hear the horseflies smacking their little lips.

The idea was to find the trail that would go to the Creekside Village trails, so we took the turn-off to Bedias Lake. That was pretty much a dead-end, so we backtracked to the turn-off for the Wetlands. Last time I had been this way, the Wetlands were more like a lake themselves. Today, we were able to cross them and headed into the woods looking for a way to the other trails. Within a few minutes, we realized that there was not a trail in the direction we were headed, so we turned around and just like that, we had lost sight of where we came in.

We spent the next 2 - 2.5 hours trying to find our way out of the woods. After wandering around and around, and then realizing that we were wandering around and around, Sara and I decided it might be a good idea to try to utilize our Garmins as GPS units. We were able to find the compass feature, but not knowing from which direction we had come originally, it was difficult to determine which way we should head back. At first we decided to head towards the rising sun, east. We thought that if we at least kept heading in the same direction we would have to come out somewhere familiar. Unfortunately, the brush was too thick for us to get through and after several attempts to stay the course, we had to give up the idea of heading east.

The next thought was to head north and follow the creek. The only problem with this was that it appeared as though we had somehow crossed the creek and could not find our way back to the other side. As well, the creek had several little creeks off of it that threw us off our track a few times.

We were also trying to decide at what point we would need to call someone and who we would call. I was trying to figure out how much it would cost us to have emergency persons locate and rescue us. That coupled with the fact the Mark would never let me live down the fact that I got lost in The Woodlands, unless it was getting dark and we ran out of liquids, I would continue to try and find my own way out.

At one point I did say a prayer to St. Anthony since he is the patron saint of lost things and we were, well... lost.

Eventually, we found a way around the creek and lo and behold, we were on the path that we had started this trek from. Ironically, I glanced down at my Garmin, we were headed East and as we came onto the real trail, the sun was right before us. Amazing.

I called home to let them know why I was so late, but no one answered. They were all still sleeping. So glad I didn't need any help.:0)

We jogged the trail back to Flintridge and then jogged/walked back to Forestgate park. We managed to put almost 9 miles in, 4 of which was actual running.

So, a bit of trail running, a lot of trail hunting, helps take the frustration away. It was great being with Pat and Sara. Nice people. I wouldn't mind getting lost with them again, as long as we were guaranteed to get out before dark.

Once I got home, the kids had gotten up and started on breakfast. As I was tending to the 2 year old, I could hear the buzzing of the horseflies. I told myself that I was going crazy. About 10 mins later, I felt something in my shirt. It buzzed. It moved. I screamed and out flew a horsefly! I killed it and felt much better. No more lip-smacking for that guy.

Frustration

I am a bit frustrated with myself as I have not been very disciplined in my running the last few weeks. I've been very busy with work so running at night is hard to do, but I need to get up earlier and get it in.

I'm also not weight-training or cross-training the way that I had intended to be. I know that if I want to reach my goals this year, this aspect of my training needs to be addressed.

My nutrition has not been much better. Bottom line is, I need to get it in gear, quick!

I ran the inter-club competition today at RTW. I ran 26:52 per Garmin, 26:55 by posted results. Again, I am a bit frustrated because I think if I had been better trained, I could have had a new PR. My HR hit 208 at one point, this is proof positive that I need to get my training back on track.

Tuesday Night with the Trail Group

It was nice to meet up with the Trail group again last night. We ran at Burroughs Park on Sunday and last night we took on the Nature Preserve Trail.

In both locations, the horseflies were out in force. Apparently, runners are the buffet of choice! Even with bug spray on board, we were chased down by swarms of horseflies.

The run was great! We left from a local park and hit the Nature Preserve. It wasn't a long run, but the horseflies helped us to pick up our pace to make it a nice tempo run. We also has a good size hill to climb on the way back to the park, so it was a good workout.

This past weekend, I had the privilege of running with the inaugural Fall Woodlands Fit group. I was asked to be an assistant coach, and though I do not feel at all qualified to be called or considered a coach of any kind, I am so grateful to have the opportunity to run with these folks and share my experiences with those whom it may help.

The goal of the Fall group is to prepare the runners for the San Antonio Rock and Roll Marathon. I am registered for that as well as Houston. I did not intend to run Houston again, but I have registered on the off chance that I will. By the way, if you are considering registering for Houston, you might want to do so soon. They are over 61% sold right now.

On tap for this weekend is the interclub competition between 7 Hills and The Woodlands Running Club. Since I am a member of both, I will run and let the clubs figure out where my numbers should go. Both groups are full of wonderful people, so I could never pick one over the other.

Get out and RUN!

Still Running, not blogging

I've been very busy, but I'm still running. Blog or run... I'll run.

Hopefully I can post more later this week. Right now I am focused on staying focused and getting out in this heat. I dread the heat, but am trying to get over it.

I take every opportunity I can to be in it. We've been cleaning out the garage in the middle of the day which is helping me acclimate to the humidity. This weekends runs were a struggle, but I got them in.

I'm closer to signing up for swimming lessons so that perhaps a tri will be in my future...2009 or 2010. I think after I get my 100 miler done, I'll be up for the tri. Or maybe the looney bin.

Days Gone By

On those days when I think I haven't made much progress on my path to fitness...


Run for Hans...November 2006 (8 weeks of running experience)



Run for David... May 2008 (21 months of running experience)

David's Dream Run

I've been down most of the week with allergies/asthma issues, only running once on Thursday. That was an easy run of 4.25 miles at a 10:17 pace.

Today, I had not planned to repeat my PR from last week, and it's a good thing. I was well below my time from last week. Honestly, I was happy just to finish. It was very, very hot. I am just not used to the heat yet. I know it will get easier, but today was tough.

It was great to see everyone out there. A really smashing bunch of people that support the running community. Several of my neighbors were there as well, probably because the neighborhood elementary school, David Elementary, is where the idea for this race was born years ago. I remember hoping that one day, I would be able to run this race. Last year I had bronchitis so I couldn't run even though I was registered. Today, I ran so that I could say I had. Well, it wasn't pretty, but I ran it.

Total Time: 29:08 (chip); Total Mileage: 3.1 miles; Avg. Pace: 9:24; Avg HR: Garmin battery dead, no splits, no HR.


Mile 1: 8:40 (from gun time)
Mile 2: 18:16 (from gun time)
Mile 3: 29:08 (chip time)

Now it's time for some serious training!

RTW PR!

It wasn't pretty, it wasn't fun, and it definitely was NOT graceful, but I did PR at RTW today. I guess I was due for a miracle...

The humidity was incredible this morning. With 83 degrees and what had to be over 85% humidity, I wasn't sure I would even finish. The saving grace is that it was overcast.

Mile 1, as usual, I started out too quickly, trying to remember to keep my pace at 8:15. Towards the end of the mile, I was hurting and slowed quite a bit. I started in the 7:30 range. I knew I would regret it and I did.

Mile 2, a bit more even for me, but the first mile was taking it's toll. I hit the mile 2 marker and walked for a minute. I am trying to imagine what my time would have been if I had not walked.

Mile 3, I had to believe that I could finish. I really wanted to give in, but knowing that Bill believed I was capable of this, I decided to run on his faith in me. Once I rounded the corner for the last portion of the 5K, I knew I would make it, but would the PR be possible?

I determined that all I needed was under 26:28 to have a PR. I took it slower running a few fartleks until I had 6/10's of a mile left. Then I kicked it up a bit more. Once I hit the infamous 3 mile dot on the driveway, I gave it my all and came in at 25:58. By my Garmin it was 25:56, but either way, a PR. I still don't know how I did this. The feeling of reaching down deep to pull it out is beyond words for me. Having the support of friends and family is what keeps me going. Thinking of those who can't run keeps me focused.

A special Happy Birthday to Ken and Waverly! Two very great people!! Of course the best part of today, seeing all the great people that I've met the past 20 months. Katy, Ken, Liz, Bill, Jon, Waverly, Kim, Missy, Coach Rich, The VanKuiken's, Ann Leonie, Debbie Tripp, and so many more. I met Evan and his sweet dog who loves to run and play fetch. Running would not be nearly as fun if it weren't for seeing these folks.

Total Time: 25:58; Total Mileage: 3.1; Avg. Pace: 8:23; Avg HR: 191 (!!!)

Weight: 126.5; Calories Burned: 305

Mile 1: 8:05
Mile 2: 8:28
Mile 3: 8:47
Mile .10 6:54 pace

Please Pray

I am an avid Christian music fan and one of my family's favorite artists has suffered an unspeakable tragedy. Please pray for Steven Curtis Chapman and his entire family.

You can read about the loss of his five-year old daughter, Maria on his blog.

Running with Foo

I ran with my eldest son, Foo, today. He rode his bike and was complaining of a sore backside. I offered to trade, shoes for the bike, but he declined.

It was a bit more humid and because of the time, a bit warmer, but still a nice day for a run.

Total Time: 1:34:10; Total Mileage: 8.4; Avg. Pace: 11:17; Avg HR: 163

Weight: 127.5; Calories Burned: 811

Weekly Mileage: 20; Monthly Mileage: 34

Mile 1: 11:13
Mile 2: 11:01
Mile 3: 12:53
Mile 4: 11:54
Mile 5: 11:21
Mile 6: 10:40
Mile 7: 10:44
Mile 8: 10:57
Mile .40: 10:01 pace

I need to drop some weight. I feel every bit of the extra few pounds right now. I am hoping that the heat training we are about to endure will speed the loss up.

Another blister on the other foot today. I am hoping it's not the shoes, because, I really like how they feel otherwise.

Keep Running!

Beautiful Morning for a Run

That's the only way to describe today. We have been so blessed with this wonderful weather. I know the other stuff is just around the corner, but I will be quite happy to put up with these temps for another month or two!

Ran almost 9 miles this morning with Dirt Runner. He showed me how to use the new UD bottle. Boy, do I feel stupid...

Total Miles 8.8 Avg Pace: 9:40 Avg HR: 180

Mile 1: 9:56
Mle 2: 10:00
Mile 3: 9:36
Mile 4: 9:44
Mile 5: 9:23
Mile 6: 9:34
Mile 7: 9:38
Mile 8: 9:36
Mile .80: 9:34 pace

New shoes feel great! I have developed a blister in the same spot my last few long runs. It started with the Kayano 13s and came up again today with the Trances. Nothing too bad, but it could get ugly with higher mileage.

Get out and run! And good luck to Katy tomorrow as she enters her first Tri! Also to Sarah and Cassie whom will be in the same tri. Make our team proud girls!! I just realized that Adrienne and I are the only girls from our TIR team that haven't crossed over to the Tri side... perhaps a goal for the future, Adrienne??

New Shoes

A request was made for a picture of the new shoes...



They were enjoying a lovely cup of decaf...

For some "mom-bragging, toddler-cuteness" video, check out my mom blog.

OK, I'll play

Random facts about me. Thanks, Katy, er, Lisa, um, Mrs. Lampson??

1. I play the trombone.
2. I received a voice scholarship in high school, but was too shy to sing in front of people so I turned it down.
3. My favorite band in high school was Rush.
4. When I was 2, I drowned in a small wading pool. I was revived by a very persistent life guard. To this day, I can't watch underwater scenes on tv or in the movies.
5. I love my husband!!
6. I don't run without a shirt, ever.
7. Sometimes I wish I could run without a shirt.
8. I cry when I watch children perform, even children I don't know.

I tag anyone who hasn't yet been tagged and wants to play the game.

Tuesday Morning Sweatfest

It's baaaaack! For anyone who hasn't stepped outside in Houston yet, be sure to grab your amphibian-like breathing apparatus before you leave. You'll need it for that moisture-filled gas your lungs are going to try to convert to oxygen.

Thank you so much for all of the kind thoughts over the weekend. I do feel better, although I was a bit bummed about not being out at the Y run. I did think about going out to cheer everyone on, but I really needed to sleep. Sounds like it was a fun time, unless your name was Ben. Poor Ben. I've known the kid since he was 6. He was never the most tactful chap, and I guess that hasn't changed much. He is a really nice kid when you get to know him, honest.

Mother's Day was great. I was spoiled (actually, I am spoiled every day, who am I kidding?) I was very blessed to received my new rides... Brooks Trance 7s! Woo hoo! I took them out for a spin this morning and they felt great!

In efforts to declutter myself on my runs, I have down-sized the hydration unit to a hand-held. I tried that out this morning also. It was a bit weird getting used to, and it doesn't help that I have the world's most wimpy arms ever, but towards the end of my run, I was pretty comfortable with it. I did feel like a moron trying to drink out of it. Rick suggested I try the Ultimate Direction hand held. It has an interesting spout on it that one is to bite down and pull in order to release the liquid into the mouth. Doesn't sound hard, does it? Enter in the factor KAREN and she can make anything difficult. Let's just say, I stopped a few times, unscrewed the darn thing and drank like crazy. There won't be any over-hydrating with this puppy! I did figure it out once I got back home, but what a way to make myself feel totally stupid!

I know that spring is in the air here in the good old Woodlands. What is the telltale sign? Crosswalk + runner in crosswalk = idiot in truck GO!

Katy, I saw Lance today! Well, ok, maybe it wasn't Lance, but it could have been! A nice custom silver and grey bus with LIVESTRONG graphics on it. Could it be that he had to travel through The Woodlands to get back to Austin? I saw it on Research Forest and Gosling heading toward 45...

Anyhow, you know it must have been a lousy run when I began to compose a blog post during the run to keep my mind from how icky it was. But at least I was running...

3.32 miles @ 10:44 pace. Could have been worse I guess.

Off Weekend

I am taking the weekend off to rest. I have been run down for several weeks now and my body is really not happy with me. I'm going to forgo the Y trail run, the schedule 8 miler for today, and tomorrow's 3 miles. Hopefully, I'll finally get over whatever this is and be done with it.

This is hard to do, because I really want to run, but I know if I don't rest right now, it could get ugly around here.

Happy running this weekend and Happy Mother's Day to all the moms!!

Running in Circles and Need for Prayers

I went to the Nature Trails tonight with Hannah. We ran the loop and a few offshoots adding up to four miles. The loop itself is about 1.6 miles. There are several new paths that are just dying to be cut through!

The rain on Monday flooded several places on the trails, but it was still a nice escape from the busy week.

The humidity was a bit more intrusive tonight, but we are in Houston.

4 miles @ 10:15 avg. pace avg. HR 174

Some of you may remember Hans. He had a very rare form of cancer which went into remission a short time ago. Unfortunately, he had some scans last week that show that the cancer has returned in his arm. Have I mentioned how very much I HATE CANCER??!!

Please keep Hans in your prayers. He has been through so much and he is only 4 years old.

Going to hug my babies...

Crazy weekend

So I totally changed my running plan around this weekend, but for a very good reason. Saturday was full of family stuff to do, so I didn't run at all.

I did get to run on Sunday with Rick and John as they ran a training run for upcoming ultras that they are running in.

I ran about 13 miles, I think. The Garmin was acting weird so it didn't read right. Compared with what Holden came up with, I think mine didn't register the first mile or so correctly. I figured we ran 13 miles at about a 10:15 average pace.

It was great to see Katy and Holden, Bill and Jon. I got to meet Pat Shannon as well.

Rick and John did 7 loops for a total of about 43 miles. Not too bad for a Sunday long run. I hope to do that myself some day!

Total Nonsense

This has nothing to do with running, other than the fact that I haven't run since Tuesday. I'm fighting a bug of some sort which has zapped my energy stores. (I wish it would zap my FAT stores!)

Sitting around with the little Boo this morning, we were looking for Tiny Toons, remember those?

We came across Bohemian Whapsody on You Tube (I don't really 'get' YouTube, but I am not 16 either).

Thought this was fun and worth a few minutes of laziness, if you are in the mood!

Week of 4-27-08

Sunday- planned to run 3, however, son's birthday took priority and we enjoyed the day as a family.

Monday - scheduled off

Tuesday - 3 miles, easy 10:00-10:20 pace planned

Total Miles: 3.0 Avg Pace: 9:57 Avg HR: 172

Mile 1: 10:04
Mile 2: 10:02
Mile 3: 9:46

Wednesday - scheduled off

Up at 3:30, couldn't get back to sleep. Arrived at the Y for some weight-training and the Eliptical. Got home at about 6:45 and took a nice nap!


Thursday - plan 3 miles 10:00 - 10:20 pace

Friday - scheduled X-train

Saturday - plan 6 miles 11 min pace

Sunday - plan 3 miles 10:00 - 10:20 pace (Hoping to run a few laps with Rick, but we will see.)

RTW

On Thursday, I got a green light to forgo the plan for Saturday's run and try to run RTW as fast as I could.

I wondered if I could capture a new PR. I was so excited to have the chance, but as usual, wasn't quite sure of my abilities.

I set my mind to give it a shot. About an hour later, I had a major allergy attack which came from no where! Several doses of antihistamine later, the attack stopped, but the effects of the medicine began to take their toll. I had a hard time sleeping both Thursday and Friday (Holden caught my error here... took me a while, but I finally clicked to it as well) night. I didn't sleep but about 30 mins last night. It was crazy. I determined to show up regardless. I wanted to see Holden break his PR!

I parked about a mile from the start so I could get a warm-up jog in. I think that this really helped me.

I was able to nail a new PR. 26:29! Not a huge difference from my previous 26:40 PR, but one nonetheless. I will try to break 26 the next time.

Mile 1: 8:37
Mile 2: 8:43
Mile 3: 8:29
.1: :39 (7:20 pace)

Avg Pace: 8:34 Avg HR: 195

I totaled 5.25 miles today with my warm-up and cool down. Pace for those miles were 10:31 and 10:48 respectively.

Congratulations to Holden on his new PR. I am so excited for him!!

I also had the opportunity to finally meet Mr. Jim Braden. He is a very kind man and an awesome athlete. He blew past me with no problem!

Week of 4-20-08

Going to try something new. I will post my plan for the week and then update as completed.


Sunday -
Total Miles: 3.0 miles Avg Pace; 11:36/mile Avg HR 150

Mile 1: 11:36
Mile 2: 11:46
Mile 3: 11:25

This was supposed to be a 12:00/pace, however, I could not seem to reach that pace. Hannah hurt her foot on this run. Not sure if she got stung or what, but she would not run afterwards and has been limping around all day. If she isn't better by tomorrow, I may need to take her to the vet.

Monday- X-train - Core workout with weights

Tuesday - 3 miles @ 11:00- 11:30 pace

Total Miles: 3.28 Avg Pace: 10:52 Avg HR: 166

Mile 1: 10:58
Mile 2: 10:50
Mile 3: 10:58
Mile .28: 10:23

The big H is back... Humidity! yuck

Wednesday - X-train - Slacker... Didn't do much in the way of training, but I did get some laundry put away!

Thursday - 3 miles @ 11:00-11:30 pace

Total Miles: 4.1 Avg Pace: 11:01 Avg HR: 167

Mile 1: 11:10
Mile 2: 10:47
Mile 3: 11:13
Mile 4: 10:55

I had a little energy snack before my run, Nutter Butters!! I think they are healthy... after all, they contain peanut butter, right?


Friday - rest

Saturday - 6 miles @ 11:00-11:30 pace


Did RTW and made a new PR!


Sunday - 3 miles @ 12:00 pace Foo's bday, no run.

Want and Need

I NEEDED this run today! I was only supposed to run 4, but I was disobedient and ran almost 6. Believe me, I needed to...


Total Time: 1:04:30 Avg Pace: 11:20 Avg HR: 158

Mile 1: 11:20
Mile 2: 10:46 (very bad with keeping my pace)
Mile 3: 11:39 (Nature Trail)
Mile 4: 12:08
Mile 5: 11:01 (back on pathway)
Mile: .69: 10:57 pace


I'll do better tomorrow, Bill.

Thursday's Run

Didn't quite make Thursday's run as my plate was overloaded. I did get a run in today.

Still working in recovery mode.

Total Miles 4.04 (was supposed to be 3, but well, it is SO NICE outside!!)
Avg Pace: 11:23
Avg HR: 158

Mile 1: 11:09
Mile 2: 11:04
Mile 3: 11:41 (realized I was running faster than my scheduled pace and then slowed down too much!)
Mile 4.04: 11:20

Foo rode his bike beside me. Gave us a nice time to chat and enjoy the day.

I didn't get to attend the Seven Hills Meeting last night. I am not missing the next one!

Tuesday's Run

Lem rode her bike alongside me for my 3 miles today.

I was attempting to keep an 11:30 pace. I came in at 3.6 miles, avg. pace of 11:23. Not too bad.

My head was wanting more, but my legs were happy with the planned run.

This weather has been just heavenly. Whenever the real Houston weather decides to show up, I am gonna die...

Slow and Easy Run

I have been anxious to get back to running since this weekend and today was the day. As much as my head and heart wanted to enjoy a wonderful run, my legs were not as willing to cooperate. I suppose that is to be expected after my first 50K. I know that there will be many other runs that will feel much better. For now, I will continue to recover and enjoy the down time with my kiddos.

Speaking of the kiddos, Marathoner in Training tagged me for this little game. It is called

"Six Word Memoir"
Here are the rules:
1) Write your own six word memoir
2) Post it on your blog and include a visual illustration if you want
3) Link to the person that tagged you in your post, and to the original post if possible so we can track it as it travels across the blogosphere
4) Tag at least five more blogs with links
5) Leave a comment on the tagged blogs with an invitation to play!

My Family is my Sole Inspiration!
As the title of my blog states, I began my quest for healthy living for my kids. I have watched those I love battle with health issues of all sorts. After losing my mom to heart and lung disease, I made the decision to be as healthy as I can so that I can live long enough to watch each of my children raise their children and maybe even their grandchildren. I don't know how long God will allow me to stay with my family, but for however long it is, I want to be as healthy as possible. I want to be as engaged in life as possible. I want to be someone that my children look up to at some point.

While I continue to run for these reasons, I also run because I have fallen in love with it. Who knew that in a quest to live a healthier life, I would meet some of the best people around. Who knew that I would take on challenges that I never could have imagined myself completing. A marathon? A 50K? Those were never terms that I would have seen in my life. So in my attempts to become the healthiest physical me that I can be, I believe I have become the healthiest me all-around. I am not so afraid of things anymore. I am not as negative about things. I have more of a "Let's Roll!" attitude and firmly believe that I can do just about anything that I put my mind to.

I have learned much about myself, including how to be gentle with myself when my body needs me to be, when my mind is wanting to go forward and my body is holding it back. When my mind doubts my ability and my body pushes through. It is a wonderful experience and one I wish that all could have, especially those whom are my sole inspiration.

I am tagging Katy, Laura, Cindy, Edwin, Adrienne, Holden, Barbara, and Cassie.

So much for teamwork

So glad none of my TIR teammates are named Marion Jones!

Hog's Hunt 50K Race Report

Prepare yourself... this is a long post...


The day began at 4:00 am, my usual rising time for long runs or race days. I had prepared my bag the night before, so all that was required of me was a shower, eating, and trying to get some fluids in before we headed up to Huntsville.

I ate a breakfast consisting of yogurt over some Go Lean Crunch, mixed with strawberries. It hit the spot and seemed to get me to the start line ok, but I was hungry right as we were about the start the race.

Mark drove me over to Pete's house and Pete, Richard and I drove up to Huntsville in plenty of time for the 7 am. start. Several great folks came out early to see us off. Most of them were running the 25K, so I really appreciated the well-wishers and extra encouragement.

I was able to meet Tommy's son, Jakeb. What a nice young man! I also saw Liz and Sara from Woodlands Fit. I saw Ken and Katy from the Seven Hills group. They were both running the 50K as well. Katy looked about as nervous as I felt. I really, honestly, did not feel like I had any business even attempting the 50K, but there I was. I figured I would either make it or I wouldn't and if I didn't at least I would get my first DNF out of the way.

It could not have been a more glorious morning to run. The temps were perfect, the humidity was low. We started off down the Park Road and then headed into the woods. I felt strangely at home even though I had only run at the park twice. It reminds me of home, and knowing that Mom is there now too, I guess I should not have been surprised that I felt so comfortable.

The trails were not too muddy. They seemed to have drain well from the previous day's rainfall. Pete and I committed to running this thing together and I was convinced I would have to wave him on at some point. I had not run anything longer than 13 miles since the Houston Marathon save for TIR which was 18 miles over 2 days. Remarkably, I felt good.

We kept our pace slow deciding to walk the uphills from the beginning. It was hard to do this as I felt strong enough to run them, but I kept hearing Bill's voice in my head and decided to heed his advice.

I didn't use my mp3 player at all. The first loop. It was just not needed. The beautiful sounds of God's creation filled the air and I was blessed to be there soaking it in. We hit 10 miles before I realized it. I felt just as good then as I did at the start.

Pete and I both had on our TIR shirts and we received lots of comments about TIR. It is a great looking shirt and obviously, it stirs up a lot of good memories for many folks out there! At each aid station, people mentioned something about TIR to us. Many of the runners passing us each way said things. "What team were you on?" "Are you registered for next year?" "Wasn't that the best race ever?!"

I was trying very hard to stick to a nutrition plan that I had put together with the advice from Rick. I even wrote the plan on my little baggie so that I wouldn't forget it. I tend to forget lots of things when I am running. I had supplied two bags with what I thought I needed for each loop. The plan was to switch out the first baggie with the second one when we came into the Lodge at 15.5 miles. I knew that I would be too scatter-brained to count out stuff, determine how many of whatever I needed. This worked very well for me. Not only did I feel well prepared nutrition-wise, I also have a record of what I actually used on each loop. Whatever remained in the bag I counted and made note of it for the next longer race I do.

As Pete and I came into the last aid station before the Lodge, we were over taken by the 25K folks. We were 2:17 into this run and these guys started an hour behind us and still ran us down. Incredible athletes, incredible. I saw Adrienne and wished her well. We were pretty sure she was going to take First Female and she did. That young lady is going to blow some records away... just watch.

As we came into the Lodge, I saw Beth and Carmen. They were cheering us on. I still felt great, but I knew I should have stopped for the restroom. I didn't, and I regretted it almost immediately. Pete reminded me that we could stop at the Nature Center. We did. It added a few minutes on, but I am so glad I stopped.

I felt like I had just warmed up a bit on the first loop, so as we headed back into the woods, it was as if we were heading in the first time. I felt pretty strong and hoped that this would hold for the remainder of the race. I still wondered if my body would not give out when I least expected it.

As we got to mile 20, I recalled how I felt at the Houston Marathon. I felt totally drained. I didn't think I was going to make it. But I chugged along because I knew Lem was going to be waiting for me at the 25th mile to run in with me. This day, as I hit 25, I felt stronger than I had all day. I think I picked up the pace, maybe a bit too much for Pete as I kept getting too far ahead of him. He led us most of the time on the first loop and I was close behind him. I was taking the lead on the second loop and tended to get a bit too far ahead. I made myself slow down so as to not burn out before the end. I put a bit of slow music on to slow me down as well.

At one point, I came across a Coral Snake. I didn't scream, just lightly tip-toed to the side. I was very proud of myself for not screaming like a girl. I usually do...

As we came in to the Electrical wires, Pete and I picked up the pace quite a bit. As soon as we could see the finish I egged him on with, "I'll race ya!" We tore butt across the finish and high-fived each other! Honestly, I think I could have gone further. I don't know how much further, but maybe another 10 miles or so.

I am sure the wonderful weather had a lot to do with how good I felt during this race. I had been praying all week for just one more cool front. God answered and He answered big. It was so wonderful.


The only real problem I had was the continual problem that I have with my hands swelling. My fingers looked like sausages. I had to actually loosen my watch in the last few miles because my wrist was swelling as well. I can't figure out why this happens. I drank plenty of fluids, either Accelerade, Heed, Nuun, or Powerade. I took the Succeed caps. Maybe it has to do with my arm position when running?

Here are my splits for the run.

Total time: 6:39:37 Avg Pace: 13:01 Avg HR 158!! (It's never been that low!)

Mile 1: 9:58

Mile 2: 10:32

Mile 3: 11:10

Mile 4: 10:08

Mile 5: 11:10 Aid Station

Mile 6: 10:43

Mile 7: 12:29

Mile 8: 12:02 Aid Station

Mile 9: 12:13

Mile 10: 11:51

Mile 11: 14:01

Mile 12: 11:04

Mile 13: 13:10 Aid Station

Mile 14: 12:19

Mile 15: 11:58

Mile 16: 11:52 Turn Around

Mile 17: 13:58 (nature center stop)

Mile 18: 13:01

Mile 19: 12:24

Mile 20: 14:11 (aid station)

Mile 21: 13:02

Mile 22: 13:27

Mile 23: 12:36

Mile 24: 15:20 (this may have been where Pete had a leg cramp)

Mile 25: 13:11

Mile 26: 14:04 (aid station)

Mile 27: 13:32

Mile 28: 12:00

Mile 29: 14:30

Mile 30: 12:54

Mile 31ish: 10:48/pace (.71 Miles)

Hog's Hunt 50K

Not only did I finish, but I finished uninjured, and feeling great!

Since I was using my new Garmin, I had forgotten to reset it for splits and couldn't figure it out this morning.

My one lap was 30.69 miles; Avg Pace 13:01; Avg HR 158

It couldn't have been a more beautiful day. Incredible. I will post a more detailed race report later.

Congratulations to all of my TIR team and other friends that ran today! Adrienne (1st woman 25K), Katy (awesome finish time for her first 50K and can now claim her Marathon Jacket!) Tommy, his son, Jakeb, Liz, Ruth, Pete, Richard and I am sure that there were more, but I can't recall them right now.

Garmin Update

Following up on my post from last week. You can read it here.

I received my Garmin today, just as promised. What is so incredible is that they replaced my Garmin with a new one. Brand-spanking new. No questions asked, even though I was technically out of warranty, they stood by their product and their customer and did the right thing.

Thank you, Garmin. Now that's how to keep a customer happy!

Three days in one post

I haven't had time to post my runs each day, so I thought I'd just post them all at once tonight.

Sunday - ran 10 miles at a 9:20 pace

Monday - I was able to get up early and get a good 15 miler in, pace a bit off at 9:30.

Today - I decided this was my last opportunity to get a long run in for the week before Hog's Hunt on Saturday. I ran to meet the Trail Group at Forest Gate, ran with them for a total of 6 miles, and then added another 10 on for good measure. Pace: 9:25.

Looking forward to Saturday!!

Saturday Run

I had the pleasure of running with a great group of people this morning. It was a bit humid, but the company made it bearable.

I ran 6.5 miles with the group and 2.5 on my own getting there and back. A total of 9 miles at about a 10:12 pace.

Had another dream about forgetting things for the Hog's Hunt Run. This time it was my water bottles, my hat, and my mp3 player. I could do just fine without the hat and music, but water is somewhat important.

A light week ahead in preparation for the weekend.

Running Nightmare

I don't usually dream about running, but last night I had a nightmare about Hogs Hunt!

I was all set to meet up with Pete to run, yet I slept in. When I awoke, various activities kept me from the race. I knew that I had many hours to complete the race, so I thought I could just show up late and run faster.

Somehow, it managed to turn into the next day. (you know how dreams are) and Pete met me to finish out the race. I ran a little bit and then it was time to stop for the night. (not sure why we had to stop...) I was using someone else's chip because I hadn't picked up my race packet and knew that it would not be given to me.

The next day, my family showed up and I got busy visiting with them, missing my start time again. When I realized that I was late, we rushed everyone into the car and drove to the start line. As I ran to the start, I realized that I had forgotten my socks and shoes!! There was no way to go back and get the shoes in time for the race and my dreams of running Hog's Hunt were squelched. I cried and cried, and cried the rest of the dream.

I wonder if this has anything to do with my concern that I am not really ready to run next weekend??

Garmin Woes

Have I ever mentioned how much trouble I seem to attract when it comes to techie-type things?

I am about to go archaic and give up email, cell phones, computers, and even my Garmin.

After finally getting a new laptop and then replacing it within four days because of a hardware issue, I have been able to start to put things back together for our business and personal household management.

This nifty new laptop brings with it the latest OS, Vista. Vista is quite quirky and does not like very much. It randomly shuts down with not apparent reason. It won't recognize software that should be easily recognized, ie Quickbooks, Quicken, Microsoft Word, etc. Oh, and it would not recognize my Garmin software without the updates.

Like a dutiful lemming, I surfed on over to Garmin to retrieve the latest updates. All seemed well in Oz until I went for a run last night. The 305, which by the way is 10 days past it's one year warranty, can't find the satellites. I will admit that at times I do feel like I am in the Twilight Zone, but having the ForeRunner confirm it was a bit unnerving!

I have attempted to contact Garmin through their website, but for some reason, their email support is not functioning and they do not list an actual email address to contact them.

I had to resort to the phone. After a mere 35 minute wait on hold, a dear man, Anthony, came to the rescue. He walked me through some steps which didn't yield a fix, so Anthony issued me a WRMA!! A WRMA is much different the a RMA because the "W" stands for WARRANTY!! This sweet man felt my plight and authorized this fix to be done under warranty AND determined it should be expedited! If this unit can not be repaired, it will be replaced!! THANK YOU!!

After having my HP crash 1 month out of warranty a few weeks ago and hearing that I couldn't have it repaired or replaced, I was not feeling very hopeful about my Garmin. Anthony has restored my hope in customer service.

I did get a run in last night. It was perfect weather for it. A 6 mile loop with a 10:47 pace push my reset button and the world was a happy place again.

I managed at run on the new trails at George Mitchell Nature Preserve. It was a nice run at dusk. I'd like to see them extend the trail so it is longer than the 2 mile loop. It was be great to have real trails close to home. Maybe if Anthony from Garmin had some input, it would happen!!

Happy Easter!

I didn't run one step this weekend.... I know, slacker! Instead, we spent a beautiful day in Huntsville on Saturday where we were able to find the perfect spot to release my mom's ashes. Running there will be so much more special now.

Easter was spent in Church followed by a great time at my sister's house, MC. We had a great time eating, hunting eggs, and played a really kick-butt game of kickball! I actually made a double-play and had a few runs in. So I guess I ran a little bit... The best part was making a double-play on my own daughter! I owned her!

I didn't make swimming at all last week and didn't make it this morning either. I hope to get back on track tomorrow. I may see if I can run tonight.

Good Friday Run

The first 2 miles were spent churning the junk out of my legs. They hurt like heck, but then seemed to get better as they warmed up.

Total Miles: 4.65 Total Time: 48:55 Avg Hr: 169 (wow! that is really low for me!) Avg Pace: 10:31

Mile 1: 11:19
Mile 2: 11:11
Mile 3: 10:36
Mile 4: 9:49
Mile .65: 9:12 pace

I wanted to keep going, but we had to get to church.

I've lost my Garmin CD for the 305. My laptop crashed. We bought a new one and that one started having hardware issues 4 days into ownership. I had Mark return it and I think my Garmin CD was in it. Now I can't upload my new info. Ugh. I have had it with computers. The new Vista OS that I am trying to learn how to use doesn't like anything I try to upload to it. Remind me how this technology saves me time?

Hoping to get to RTW in the morning. I wanted to do a longer run, but I have some family things to get done.

Have a wonderful Easter everyone!

Remembrance

Uncooperative legs

My mind was in, but the legs weren't. Hannah, my reliable doggie, was up for an easy 3 or 4 miles with me this morning. I made it about a mile and then I just couldn't pick the legs up anymore.
I can't really explain why, so I'll chalk it up to the moon cycle or something...

I walked another 2 with Hannah and called it a day.


I'll try again tomorrow.

Monday morning madness

I didn't get up in time for my swimming class so I thought I'd add in a longer run to get some more mileage in.

It was a bit humid this morning, 88%. I was just hoping for a nice downpour. No such luck. A few drops here and there, but not enough to qualify as a shower.

Total Miles: 8.60 Total Time: 1:35:14 Avg Pace: 11:04 Avg HR: 170

Mile 1: 11:06
Mile 2: 10:47
Mile 3: 12:09
Mile 4: 11:06
Mile 5: 10:51
Mile 6: 11:55
Mile 7: 10:58
Mile 8: 10:10
Mile .60: 10:09 pace

Mileage for March: 57

Very inconsistent pace. I didn't really feel so wonderful this morning. I finally felt good at about mile 7. My calf is bugging me a bit, but not enough to say it is injured. I don't feel it so much when running, except for a general tightness in it. Stretches don't seem to get to it so I am assuming it is pretty deep.

The most interesting things I saw on my run? Two huge trees across the path way which I had to climb over and some really cool looking birds that I've never seen before hanging out with the ducks. I'll be investigating their kind and post what I find out.

Happy St. Patrick's Day!

Saturday at the Park

Pete and Ruth accompanied me to Huntsville on Saturday. We met Katy, Adrienne, Edwin and his friend Jeremy at the Nature Center. It was great to see everyone. Next time I hope I can stay a bit longer. I needed to get back to my neck of the woods so our time together was brief.

I'm looking forward to my first trail run in just a few weeks. I hope I am ready for the 50K. I haven't felt like my long runs are adequate, but it is what it is. I won't be racing this one. My goal is to finish and then I'll be taking some time to develop a more consistent routine. I'd like my monthly mileage to increase at least by a few miles each month for the next few months. More on that later!

Total Miles: 9.99 Total Time: 1:50:49 Avg Pace: 11:05 Avg HR: 174

Mile 1: 10:16
Mile 2: 10:29
Mile 3: 10:06
Mile 4: 10:08
Mile 5: 10:47
Mile 6: 11:49
Mile 7: 12:16
Mile 8: 11:18
Mile 9: 11:26
Mile 10: 12:10

Late Run

I was able to finally get out the door tonight a bit past 8. This was quite a feat for me. I've been up since 5 and was feeling quite frustrated that I could not manage to find the time for a run. The Bean had a very early dentist appointment which shot my running out from the morning slot.

I was able to put in 7.35 miles tonight. To me, this was a huge deal. I can usually commit to about 3 or 4 miles at night after a long day, but I had made up my mind that I needed to get 7 miles in, and by golly, I did it! I even threw in some fartleks to boot.

Total Miles: 7:35 Total Time: 1:18:09 Avg Pace: 10:37
Avg: HR 180

I didn't keep track of my splits very well, but I did try to log the last 5 speed drills that I ran. I think I did a total of 12, just didn't think to hit the lap button on my Garmin. I REALLY need an inservice on this thing...

1. 7:51
2. 7:55
3. 6:54
4. 6:27
5. 6:37

Each drill was an average of about 240 ft. (Between light posts)

I was considering trying to get a morning run in and relive the TIR, but I will probably forgo this since it's already 12:37 and I have an 8:30 meeting to attend.

It felt good to get out there tonight.

Update on Hans

Apologies to those of you who read my other blog as well. This has been posted on both sites.


For those of you who have been praying for Hans... I just had to share his news!

The strength of the human spirit never ceases to amaze me. Not only has this family had to deal with a very aggressive and rare form of childhood cancer, they have raised money for the cause! Bake sales and fund raisers. Just when I think my plate can't get any fuller, I read about these types of folks and almost get embarrassed at my own weaknesses.

Hans is so special to me. I've never met him in person. They live in my community. We run in some of the same circles. But the prayers and support that we have offered still help. He was the reason for my first 5K. I still think of him when I run. He is an inspiration to us all...

Crazy Week

This week has been so bizarre and I am exhausted. No running since Sunday. Life keeps getting in the way.

We have had a parish mission for the last three nights, so we've been busy in the evenings with that.

Sunday night, my lap top crashed. Dead. 14 months old. Dead. I can't check email. I've lost many, many files that pertain to my business as well as our household. Apparently it's the motherboard. HP doesn't fix motherboards. I'm so excited. Email and blogging will be severely limited until I get this mess figured out.

Monday night the Suburban decided to start acting up. It's been in two shops in two days. Transmission issues. I'm in no hurry. I can run anywhere I need to be. Of course getting the kids where they need to go is another story.

Also noticed a bump on little Boo's bottom. This is the third such bump on our little guy. After seeing a show on MRSA, I decided I should probably bring him in. Sure enough, staph. Not sure if it is MRSA, but got the antibiotics started.

Today, the bump was much worse. It needed to be drained. He couldn't sit on it and it was extremely painful to the touch. And it was beginning to drain (gross alert here, really gross) but it wasn't draining properly. I've worked with wounds in the past and I knew from how this one felt, it wasn't good.

We had to head back to the doctor where it was determined that it need to be opened up and allowed to drain. I don't think my son will ever set foot in the doctor's office again. I felt so badly for him, but it needed to be done. As I write this, I am avoiding my mommy duties of another soak in the tub. I just don't think I can watch him cry again. But I will... dying to myself....dying to myself.

I have managed to squeeze in two days of swimming this week. And I am going to take a few private lessons starting next week to see if I can improve. I plan to run in the morning, depending on how the house is doing when dawn breaks.

If you are the praying kind, please say a little one for Boo. If we don't see a turn around in this infection, it could mean a hospitalization. I have every reason to believe that this won't be necessary, but then again, as I said at the start of this post, this has been a very bizarre week.

A nice treat

I had the chance to run with a friend that I've never run with, but we've been friends for years. Cindy was kind enough to come out to Run The Woodlands. We took a nice and easy pace and enjoyed good conversation, beautiful weather and great friendship.

I am still very sore from this past weekend. I've had a recurring issue with my calf and hip. I don't know if I am supposed to try to run through it or rest it. For now, I am going to keep trying to run on it, though at a slower than usual pace.

Just for Joe

And Barbara too!

I agree, Barbara... I can't get anyone to take a picture of my toes either, hence the blurry picture taken by moi. Bean says that these pictures will make her throw up... wimp. Oh, and your toe got the biggest EWWWW! So you win!!

For Joe, we'll come up with something more pleasant to post... in the meantime, where is your ugly toe picture??

TIR - Part 2

So it took me all day to compose a post and I should have known that I would forget things.

I saw so many people that I knew that were running with different teams. It was great to see them and they all seemed to have the same experience that I did.

One thing I forgot to mention was that we saw a rally getting ready to kick off for Clinton. Those folks have no idea what they were missing by not watching the Relay!

As for my particular legs, here is what I can recall

Leg 9 - 3.81 miles ending in Flatonia (don't let the name fool you. It was all hills to get there!) This leg had the dubious honor of having the highest elevation of the race. A beautiful view for sure! After waiting hours to finally put my efforts in for the team, I exited to van in great anticipation of my run. It was around 3:00 pm and close to 80 degrees. I took off too fast. I came in at 8:31 for the first mile. Jon had predicted a 9:29 pace. Next mile was 10:08. Too slow. Last mile was logged at 11:56. The heat, hills, and poor pacing took it's toll. Still it was nothing compared to what Edwin had just endured. Lesson from this leg, learn to pace myself.

Leg 20 - 4.57 miles rolling through Eagle Lake during the midnight hour. This run was a welcomed reprieve from the heat of the day. Geared up for nighttime running, and praying my leg would not let me down, I started out with an intentional slower than expected pace. So much for that, I covered the 1st mile in 9:30. The second right on target at 9:29. The third mile I could really feel the leg and slowed to a 9:57 pace. My last mile (+) came in at about 9:30 as well. Better pacing on my part, but I had wanted to be able to really move at night as I love running in the dark. The shoulders were almost non-existent on some portions of this leg. I kept a watchful eye for the dogs that might be lurking in the dark, but thankfully, none were out. They were obviously waiting for Holden and Dana-Sue. During this run, I became road kill to two other guys. When I saw that I was gaining on a flashing light ahead of me, I became very excited that I might get my own "road kill". All excitement faded as I passed the frickin' cone with the blinkie attached to it!
I passed the Dairy Queen as I made my way to Main Street in Eagle Lake. Preoccupied with the thoughts of an Oreo Blizzard, I never noticed the truck sitting in the dark parking lot to my left. I nearly freaked out when out of no where I hear screaming and metal noise makers going off! They were cheering for me, and while I appreciated the effort of encouragement, I really would liked to have had more notice of their presence! I thanked the well-wishers and continued onto Main Street. Here, I ran on the sidewalks for most of the time. Some photographer was running after me trying to get pictures and ask about what the heck we were doing. I answered the best I could and he continued to shoot pictures. Later I laughed at the thought of what his pictures might look like as his flash and my head lamp probably over-exposed any image he tried to capture.

Shortly after that, I saw my Blogger van pass me up and head into a gas station. I continued down the end of Main street passing two bars that had some very happy/confused patrons that I was fully prepared to use my "doggie deterrent" on. Thankfully, that did not have to happen. I finished my leg and thanked God that my leg held out. I wasn't sure what Sunday's runs would hold though.


Leg 33 - 4.47 miles. Memorial/San Felipe; ending at Voss This was the Sunday morning run and my wonderful friend Mary Jane came out to meet me. It lifted my stamina so much. After only about 90 mins of sleep, I wasn't sure how well I'd do. I knew that my leg was not doing well, but didn't want to ask anyone else to take my leg as they all had much more difficult legs and more miles than I had. I took several Advil, said a Divine Mercy Chaplet and a Rosary and decided to suck it up and learn to love the pain. Mary Jane will never know how much I appreciated her getting up extra early on a Sunday to see me off. Even though I have lived in the Houston area for 20 years now, I really don't know my way around the place save for the Medical Center and Museum district. It was so nice to see such beautiful old trees and neighborhoods. There were narrow and uneven sidewalks so I tried to stay on the road as much as possible. Houston police were awesome as they stopped traffic to allow us to pass. I didn't get flipped off even once!! There was a bit of excitement as I neared the end of my run. A car had crashed into a brick wall and was directly in the way of my leg. I hopped a few curbs and traveled to the other side of the street. As I did so, I realized that I could get a "jay-walking" ticket. Praying that this didn't happen, I continued on. My pace was much slower this time around. I had to utilize the run/walk method to get through it. Mile 1: 10:02, Mile 2: 10:23, Mile 3: 11:27 (walk/run started) Mile 4: 11:00, Mile .47 10:05. At the end of this run, I broke my cardinal rule about caffeine and ingested a cold frappucino. It was so good and I was able to stay awake the rest of the day. Those who know me and caffeine, don't worry, I didn't kill anyone!


Leg 39 - 3.29 miles This was the most interesting part of the relay. We were in the midst of high humidity and overcast clouds as Jon finished the Captain's leg. It was quite breezy and even a bit chilly, though very sticky. I had to switch to the other Blogger van to finish the last leg. I will say, they kept a much cleaner van than we did! I think all of their ingestion of Red Bull forced them to keep busy by cleaning!! It was great to have the honor of finishing the relay with the other half of the team. I got to meet every one on the team and spend time with each member. I am not sure if everyone else got that opportunity. I felt truly blessed. First up to run was Keith. He grabbed the baton from Jon and headed into the neighborhoods of East Houston. I will always cherish the look upon his face as we tried to figure out what he needed on his run. "GUMMY BEARS! I WANT GUMMY BEARS!" The best we could do was some Gu... Poor Keith had a strange effect on trains. Twice during this relay would he get stuck behind them. Taking the next leg was David. This guy is a running machine. We were taking bets on who would make it to the end of his leg, us, driving through the "hood" or him, running through the park. Thankfully, we all made it safe and sound. Next was Cassie's turn. The rain started coming down hard as she began her leg. What a strong lady. She didn't flinch a bit as she headed into the parts of town that most would think twice about going into. At one point, I was concerned for her physical safety and we stayed close to her as she came out of that neighborhood. Finally, my leg was up. The rain stopped as Cassie ended her run. The wind decided it was a good time to pick up. I would love to know the speed of the wind that I was running directly into. It was so strong I could feel myself going sideways and working extra hard to push through. My leg called for a jaunt across a field which didn't look too difficult until I was mid-field. It was then that I realized that the field had been trenched by a 4X4 over and over again. I rolled my ankle a few times which felt great as I was "road killed" again. Dang it! The trenched fields had also just been rain-soaked from the downpour that came during Cassie's run. By the time I got to the edge of the field, I had to walk for a bit. So much for my trail running career. I think I'd much rather hop roots than avoid holes. During the last part of the run, my glorious family drove past me and cheered me on. I continued to fight the head wind and at times gave in to a walk. I felt like I was pushing 500 lbs just to move forward. I was never so glad to finish my leg as I was at that moment. Mile 1: 9:33, Mile 2: 9:54, Mile 3: 11:09, Mile .29: 9.44 pace. Holden had yelled out to me that I should keep going if he wasn't at the next exchange. I am so grateful he was there!



Epilogue - The feeling of finishing was very emotional. I started this TIR with the intent that it would be a once in a lifetime event. I confirmed that feeling sometime between Saturday night and Sunday morning, but something happened as we crossed that line as a team... and I can't wait to do it again.



I was somewhat concerned that TIR would take away from my training to complete Hog's Hunt because mileage-wise, it wasn't what I needed to be doing this weekend. But I can see that this experience tested me in so many other ways that WILL prepare me for the Endurance runs. I ate little, slept even less, gave up most comforts that I am spoiled by, and ran through pain. I overcame myself over and over on this run. And because one of my highest goals in life is to die to myself, I believe that this experience helped me to do so on a level that I might never get to in every day life.

People ask why we do this. Can we truly give an answer? Sure, I do it for the kids, as my blog is titled. But I do it for so many other reasons. Deep reasons. Reasons I don't even understand. I am such a selfish, self-centered being, yet, through the grace of God, I am able to place myself in situations which test me to the ends of my belief. I don't see how I can possibly do something, yet He provides all that I need to do so, just like He promises. So perhaps I am testing Him? I hope not. I hope that I am showing my faith in Him. Showing that I trust in Him. I know that He will carry me when I can no longer go on. I know that He will relieve me when He knows that I have done all that I can.

I will never be able to fully comprehend how this experience has impacted me. I am a changed person. I change with every run. I am not fast, I am not strong. I don't meet expectations, but I do my best. 18 months ago, I had never run even a mile. But I can do all things, in Christ...

Trains, Vans, and Gummy Bears - TIR 2008

There is absolutely no way that I can possibly blog about the entire experience of this weekend at the Texas Independence Relay.
I'll try to hit the highlights without boring you.

Tommy did a great job of creating a word salad packed with memories for those of us who were there.

The whole experience was probably the most fun I have ever had with a van full of almost strangers. Sure, we've come to know one another through the blogging world, but who, in their right mind, signs up to spend an entire weekend in a mini-van (and I do stress the word mini) with people other than family, most of whom you've never met in person? The real world will tell you that this is crazy! And they would be right, except that in this case crazy worked very well!

The weekend started at 1:00 am Saturday morning as I waited for the alarm to go off. I think I had a total of 45 mins of sleep. This was to be expected as I was nervous about forgetting something. As my bag would indicate by its sheer weight, I didn't forget a thing! First lesson that I will take away from TIR is to thoroughly evaluate every single item I packed and determine if I used it or needed it. This will help me in future races, ultras in particular.

Dave and Holden picked me up at about 2:15 or so and we headed to Jon's house for our departure to Gonzales. It is a very good thing that I wasn't in charge of the map or driving on TIR, as I managed to get us lost within the first 20 mins of our trip!
Once we arrived at Jon's we had a few introductions, Edwin, and then Katy, and Adrienne. We met Cassie and her van just outside of Gonzales and followed one another in.


After the two vans parked and introductions were complete, the first order of business once we arrived was to find the restroom. Thank goodness for 24 hour Whataburger. Truly my biggest fear about TIR was my tiny bladder capacity. I was able to overcome the fear I have of port-a-potties pretty quick.

As the sun rose, we met Bill's team, the Texian Road Warriors, gathered together and offered prayer for a safe and fun weekend. God was very good to us.

Gonzales was a great town. They really came out to support us with free breakfast tacos, coffee, and a cannon blast or a bang of the gong to each team as they crossed the start line.


photo courtesy of Joe C

The prologue was a great start to the race. We all ran together for the first mile. Afterwhich, Dave started us on our journey of 40 legs to the San Jacinto.

Our van headed out to find some breakfast and we were treated to a buffet in a little restaurant in Shiner. There was only one waitress in the place and there were several TIR teams. I saw several folks from the Champions Fit group. The coffee was nothing to brag about, but it was a great time to sit back and get to know one another.

From breakfast we went to the first Van exchange at the Shiner Brewery. Keith would be handing off to Sarah as she began leg 7. Blogger 1 Van had a nice morning to run, cooler temps, but lots of fog. As soon as Sarah hit the road, the sun came out and the temps began to soar. On top of 70+ temps, we had a nice set of hills to conquer. As the baton was passed from teammate to teammate, our commoraderie grew. We realized that if we were going to make it through this weekend, we were going to have to take care of one another, cheer each other on, maybe even make sure that we were wearing the right gear! At one point, Jon realized he didn't have his bib on, so one of the runners ran one out to him. At another point, we realized that Jon didn't have any reflective gear on, so we took care of that. Jon was so busy making sure that we were all taken care of that he forgot to take care of himself. Watching my teammates show the care that we should all show to one another every day was an awe inspiring event. It was one of those beautiful moments in life that I hope I never forget.


dinner at Schobel's in Columbus (I think) photo courtesy of Joe C

On top of the incredible experience of running the TIR, we had the added fun of a Texas Throwdown between us and the Texian Road Warriors.


Coach Bill and the Texian Road Warriors as they cross the finish line

While we enjoyed the competitive angle of the Throwdown, I think we all enjoyed cheering one another on, making sure we were all safe, and sharing the joy of the finish with both teams.



Battling Bloggers of the Texas Republic 2008

Some memories that I'll state in no specific order will not mean much to anyone other than my teammates.

Back seat of the Sienna - ouch
Jose and Manny - Drivers/Saints could not have done this without them!
Trains - Keith kept imagining them
Dogs - there's dumb and then there is Texas Dog Dumb!
Pepper Spray - not so effective on Texas Dog Dumb dogs
Sleep - 90 mins is all you need
Shower - the best thing since sliced bread
Red Bull - desperate times call for desperate measures
Gummy Bears - Keith's only request
The guy who was "just a guy" running
Last Hill- it wasn't on the map
Epilogue
Each saying this is a once in a life-time event and then wondering when registration for 2009 will be
Jon's face as he watched his daughter sing at the base of the San Jacinto Monument
Family - seeing ours after the weekend away

TIR - Short Version

We made it! Imagine spending the weekend with 1200 of your stinky (in a good way) running friends (those known and those unknown), getting not much sleep, not much to eat, and lots of running in the fog, heat, dark, rain, and wind... multiply that amazing experience times 1000 and you still won't capture how much fun it was!

More to follow... for now, my bed awaits...

Battling Bloggers Rock! Texian Road Warriors Roll! Forever the Two Shall Rule!